Wedding, baby!
by friends.lobsters
Summary: A "what if" story. This is my idea of what would've happened if Phoebe said yes to Joey's proposal in Season 8 when he thought she was pregnant. Alternate season 8.
1. The Proposal

**A/N: Hi, I'm back! I took a break for a few months because school got busy (and so did life lmao) but I've decided to give fanfiction writing another go! This story will be based on season 8 of Friends with my own twist of course ;). The main pairings will be Joey/Phoebe and Ross/Rachel, but don't worry, there will be some Monica/Chandler too I'm sure! I'd like to thank my mom for giving me this idea since I never have any good ideas myself haha. I won't say much more because I don't want to spoil anything, enjoy my little lobsters!**

**Quick disclaimer: I do not own Friends or the characters.**

Joey's POV

Any decent guy would do the same thing if they had a friend who was in the same position as her, so just do it already. Stop overthinking this Joey Tribbiani, it's not that big of a deal. Well, it sorta is a big deal, but still, just ask her already! Do as you always do, never think about what you're doing and just go for it. Ok, I'm gonna do it... Maybe… Ok deep breath, Joey, It's now or never.

Third Person POV

"Phoebe Buffay, will you marry me?" Joey asked as he got down on one knee and pulled out the ring he bought at a thrift store. He didn't have time to buy a fancy expensive ring, all he wanted to do was make sure Phoebe had someone to raise her baby with. If that low-life-piece-of-scum had enough nerve to walk out on her, Joey knew he should be the one to step up. Monica and Chandler had just gotten married, so that eliminates Chandler, and everybody knows that Ross is bound to end up with Rachel, so he was out of the picture as well. That just left Joey, and he had no problem with that. Phoebe was an absolutely divine woman, and he thought very highly of her. Even though he hadn't admitted it, he knew he had feelings for her. If he told the group, it wouldn't be as personal to him, and things could get a little messy, so he kept it to himself for all this time. Now was his chance, all she had to say was yes.

Phoebe's POV

Alright, now this has gone a little too far. Rachel better start telling people that _SHE'S _the one who's pregnant and not me, I don't think I can cover for her for much longer. The only reason Joey wants to marry me is because he doesn't want me to be a single mom, and he wants to give me a helping hand. Actually, now that I think about it, that's pretty sweet of him. He's always been a really nice guy, and he loves his friends more than air. I could use someone like that in my life. I've only ever gone out with losers like Carl who ate chalk. Well, I did go out with David, and he wasn't a loser. David was great, I really did like him… But to hell with that, he's living it up in Minsk and he probably won't be coming back any time soon. He left me to go to Russia, but I know Joey will always be by my side, we've always had a special bond…

Third Person POV

"Oh my God," Monica said from the living room, rolling her eyes. This was going to far, somebody had to tell him, and it was gonna be her. "Joey-"

"Hell yeah, I'll marry you!" Phoebe said gleefully after taking a moment to make her decision. Joey watched with a grin on his face as Phoebe slipped the ring on her finger.

"You can't marry him!" Monica broke in, trying to keep both Joey and Phoebe from making a big mistake.

"Hey lady your day is over, it's _MY _turn!" Phoebe told Monica before planting a kiss on Joey's lips. Monica watched as the pair wrapped their arms around each other and sank into the kiss lovingly. Although it was sweet, Monica knew she couldn't stand there and let this happen.

"Phoebe!" She said loudly, glaring at her friend.

"What, why can't she marry me? I'll treat her very well and make sure she gets all the support she needs." Joey told Monica while he held Phoebe's hand.

Before Monica had a chance to say anything, Phoebe spoke up. "I can and I will marry you Joey Tribbiani!" She stated firmly, then she kissed Joey again.

Monica had enough, she couldn't keep Rachel's secret anymore. "Joey, Phoebe is not-"

"Monica! Can I speak to you in the hall for a second? PLEASE?" Phoebe said frantically as she jumped up from her seat.

"No Pheebs, Joey has to know th-"

"Ok, come with me!" Phoebe cut Monica off then dragged her by her arm into the hall.

"Phoebe what the hell are you doing?!" Monica questioned her friend while shutting the door behind them. "The only reason he wants to marry you is because he thinks you are pregnant, which you _aren't._ This is a BIG mistake, so just call this whole thing off before it gets any wor-"

"But I think I love him Monica." Phoebe said, cutting off Monica for the fourth time in the last five minutes.

Monica looked into Phoebe's green eyes, trying to study her emotions. Was she being genuine, or was this just Phoebe being Phoebe? After taking a pause, Monica found her voice. "What do you mean?"

"I love him Mon. We've been friends for more than eight years now, and we've always had a special bond that I just can't explain. If I picture myself ending up with someone, it's not Carl the chalk eater, or David who left me for Minsk, I picture myself with Joey. He's caring, he's funny, he's loveable, and you know this as well as I do, he's a total babe. What more could a woman want? He is perfect, and I'd be willing to spend my life with him."

Monica took in and processed every word of Phoebe's speech. Maybe Joey and Phoebe were meant to be, they do care about each other a whole lot, they're like two peas in a pod. But there were still problems with this spontaneous marriage proposal.

"Pheebs, Joey is gonna notice when you don't have a baby in nine months." Monica reminded her.

"It's Joey we're talking about Mon, he won't suspect a thing. Even if he did, he'll learn the truth eventually, Rachel won't be able to keep this a secret much longer. I'm hoping she'll tell everyone soon, I feel bad lying to Joey like this." Phoebe said.

"I don't feel great about lying to him and the others either. Just like Joey, Chandler and Ross have no idea about what's going on. It's really hard being the only ones who know, but I guess you're right. They'll find out soon enough, just not quite yet." Monica agreed.

Phoebe nodded her head. "Alright well this has been a fun talk, but I gotta go back in there so I can be with my new fiancé," Phoebe said, then paused. "Ooh, I like the sound of that. Fiancé. Fi-an-cé. Pheebs the fiancé!" She giggled joyfully at her new title, then headed back inside to meet up with Joey, Monica following close behind.


	2. The Sweater Game

**A/N: Welcome back to yet another chapter! I guess the theme of this story is spontaneity because just like Phoebe and Joey, I have no idea what I'm getting myself into, and I have no clear plan, yay me! Oh well haha, I'll figure it out, I just hope people like this story, that's all that matters :) Oh, and thanks to FictionWriter91 for being my first reviewer! enjoy my little lobsters, and don't forget to leave me a review, they help me a lot.**

Shortly after Monica and Phoebe went back inside, Rachel opened the door and greeted her friends. "Hey guys, what's up?"

Phoebe turned to Rachel. "Oh y'know, same old. Watched some TV, helped Monica open some wedding presents, got engaged, that kind of thing." Phoebe said nonchalantly.

"Ah nice. Wait, isn't Mon supposed to open the presents with Chan-," Rachel stopped mid-sentence and the others looked at her expectantly. "Woah, back up Pheebs, did you say _engaged?_ To who?!" Rachel could hardly contain her shock.

All it took was Phoebe quickly glancing at Joey for Rachel to figure it all out. Rachel gasped and put her hand over her mouth.

"Wh-when, why, how?" She managed to splutter.

"Care to explain?" Phoebe asked, batting her eyelashes at Joey, who was stroking her hand.

"Of course, come sit Rach." Joey said, scooching over to the left of the couch so Rachel had room.

"Alright, lemme just get a bottle of water first." Rachel said as she made her way over to the fridge. She didn't tell the others, but the water was to try to help with the morning sickness that just started to kick in. She grabbed a bottle and then came to sit next to Joey.

"Ok, I'm ready. Spill the beans!" Rachel said excitedly. She'd always loved gossip, even if she didn't always like to admit it.

"Well, Phoebe and I have always had a strong connection that neither me or her can explain, but it's always been there. Just looking into her eyes makes my heart race. Whenever I'm around her I feel more happy and free-spirited. She brings out the best in me, and I hope I do the same for her. I think I've always secretly loved her, even if it's never been said out loud." Joey gushed, then he concluded his speech by giving Phoebe a cute little peck on the cheek.

"Awh, you guyyyss! This is so unexpected, but so sweet!" Rachel said smiling brightly.

_Sometimes the greatest things in life are unexpected, _she thought to herself, then she placed a hand on her stomach, which went unnoticed by everyone but Monica. Monica always picked up on everything, she was very observant. Rachel could tell that Monica desperately wanted to tell everyone the news, but Rachel planned on waiting a bit longer. She wasn't sure when she'd be ready to announce it, but she hoped it would be sooner than later so she could just get it over with. _Expected or not, I'm gonna love this baby so much, and that's the only thing I know for certain, _Rachel thought, and she meant every word of it.

"I agree! Sure this was kinda spontaneous, but it feels right. I've never been happier." Phoebe told her friends with a smile, and Joey nodded his head in agreement, showing that he felt the exact same way.

"Alright you guys, I gotta go, I'll catch up with you later. Bye babe." Joey said as he got up from the couch. Phoebe stood up to give him a kiss, then she sat back down when Joey left.

Now that it was just the three girls, Monica took the opportunity to talk about the secret that only they knew.

"So Rach, how have you been feeling lately, any morning sickness?" Monica asked, showing concern for her friend.

Rachel nodded her head wearily. "Yeah a little bit, but it hasn't been too bad." She replied, then took a sip of her water.

"That's good!" Phoebe said with a grin, earning a small smile back from Rachel. Even though Rachel seemed to be doing okay on the outside, her aura was definitely off, and Phoebe sensed it.

"Are you okay Rach? You seem a little distracted." Phoebe asked her.

Rachel let out a small sigh. "I guess I'm pretty good, I'm just a little bit nervous about telling people y'know? Especially the father."

Phoebe nodded knowingly. "I know from personal experience that it can be scary to tell people, but you have very supportive friends! I don't know too much about your family though, but I'm sure they'll be happy too." Phoebe explained in attempts to console Rachel, who looked just as anxious as before.

"That's true…" Rachel said halfheartedly.

After a few seconds of silence, Monica asked Rachel something that she and Phoebe were absolutely dying to know.

"Rach… I was wondering… If you could… Well, uh…" Monica couldn't seem to get the words out. This was a pretty sensitive topic for Rachel, and bringing it up could make her more stressed, which was not at all ideal.

"It's okay, Mon, you can ask me anything. What is it?" Rachel told her meaningfully, looking into Monica's bright blue eyes.

"Well," Monica continued, then started anxiously playing with her black hair, "I was wondering if you could maybe tell us who the father is…" She implored quietly.

Rachel took a breath and then took a moment to think. _Think about this Rach. Are you mentally prepared to tell her? Are you comfortable with having it out the open yet? _It didn't take much thought before she ultimately came to a conclusion. _No, I'm not ready. But I could give them a hint, they are obviously really eager to know._

"I'm sorry Mon, I don't think I'm ready yet." Rachel declared.

Monica nodded her head to show that she understood. It was Rachel's decision after all.

"But," Rachel continued, as a slow smile began to spread across her face.

"But? Did I hear a but?!" Phoebe asked, her excitement clear. She sat up and scooted forward, readying herself for whatever Rachel was going to say, and Monica did the same.

"I can give you two a hint since you're desperate to know. The father left a little something at my place when we, well, you know." Rachel said, grinning from ear to ear. She got up and left, then crossed the hall to get to her apartment.

"Was that story over?" Phoebe asked Monica, and Monica shrugged.

Just then, Rachel returned holding a crimson sweater. Monica and Phoebe exchanged a glance, neither of them knew who that mysterious sweater belonged to.

"Is this the hint?" Monica asked, slightly disappointed.

"Mhm, and that's all ya' get. If you can figure out who the father is in the next minute I'll go tell everybody the news. Do we have a bet?" Rachel offered.

"Hell yeah we do!" Monica shouted without thinking.

"Alright," Rachel said, looking down at her watch, "your time starts… Now!"

For the next 30 or so seconds, all that could be heard was Phoebe and Monica frantically guessing the name of every single guy they knew. At one point, Monica even asked if it was Chandler, but they somehow missed the name of the father himself.

"26 seconds left guys!" Rachel said, grinning smugly. She won, and she knew it.

Suddenly, it hit Phoebe like a soccer ball to the head.

"OOH OOH I KNOW, I KNOW WHO IT IS!" Phoebe screamed excitedly, which made Rachel freeze in her spot.

"OH MY GOD WHO, WHO IS IT PHEEBS?!" Monica yelled frantically. Time was running out.

"I THINK IT'S-" Just before Phoebe could finish speaking, Ross walked in.

_Thank God! _Rachel said internally. _If it wasn't for Ross' excellent timing, they would've figured it out and I would've been toast._

"Hey guys! What's all the screaming about? I could hear you from the stairwell." Ross asked the group of girls.

"Oh, it's nothing, don't worry Ross." Rachel assured him, followed by a beep from her watch.

"Aha, times up you guys, I win!" Rachel exclaimed gleefully.

Monica sulked, she was so close to knowing, and then Ross just _had_ to barge in.

"Damn!" Monica cried angrily, throwing the sweater to the kitchen table near where Ross was standing.

"Oh hey, my sweater! I've been looking for this for like a month! Thanks for finding it you guys." Ross said.

Only silence could be heard when he walked out the door with his red sweater in hand.


	3. The Father

**A/N: Ok so a guest reviewer told me that they like the way I revealed the father better than how they did it in the actual show! THANK YOU! I honestly didn't know if people would like it or not so I'm very glad you did! And for the other guest that asked why I cut Monica out of my profile picture, it was a total accident ahah. I thought it had all of the Friends characters in it, oops. Anyways, today I'm in the writing mood and I don't have homework, so I decided to write this new chapter. Enjoy my lil lobsters, and please don't forget to leave a review!**

Wide eyed, Phoebe and Monica slowly turned to stare at Rachel, who was paralyzed from shock.

_Just when I thought I'd won… Crap,_ Rachel thought to herself with dismay.

After remaining quiet for what seemed like an eternity, Monica finally found her voice.

"Ross.. It's Ross…" She mumbled to herself, trying to evaluate what just happened. Suddenly, her tone of voice shifted. "It's ROSS, oh my GOD it's ROSS! Rach, I'm gonna be your baby's aunt!" Monica shrieked happily while bouncing up off the couch to hug Rachel.

"I knew it!" Phoebe said, proud of her outstanding intuition. In all honesty, Phoebe was surprised she hadn't figured it out earlier. Rachel kept glancing over at Ross during the wedding, acting all weird around him, and trying to keep herself perfectly composed when in his presence. It was so obvious!

Rachel laughed while beckoning good ol' Pheebs in to join the hug. "I had a feeling you'd be the first to figure it out, your intuition has always been scarily accurate."

Phoebe got up and smiled, running over to her girlfriends to join the embrace. "Aw Rach this is so exciting! I'm gonna be an aunt too!" Phoebe said while breaking the hug.

"We're gonna be the best aunts EVER! If there was an award for Best Aunts we would get it, no questions asked!" Monica declared proudly.

"Oh I know you will! So even if Ross doesn't… doesn't want to be in the p-picture," Rachel began, tears welling up in her eyes and her voice faltering, "the baby will still be loved by us."

"Aw Rach, don't say that, of course he'll want to be a part of this." Monica said, gently taking Rachel by the arm and leading her to the couch, Phoebe following close behind.

"Yeah I guess, but how can you guarantee that, Mon?" Rachel asked as a single tear fell down her cheek.

"Well," Monica began as they all took a seat, "I've known my brother since the very second I was born. Even though at times he drove me absolutely ballistic, Ross is great guy, and in no ways is a jerk. Abandoning you and the baby would _never even cross his mind. _I don't think you know how much he loves and adores you." Monica explained.

"Monica's right, Rach, he really loves you, even if you don't know it." Phoebe added.

Rachel nodded, but then looked down at the floor. "But I don't think he feels that way about me anymore." Rachel confessed softly.

"You must be kidding!" Phoebe exclaimed, she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Have you _met _Ross? We're talking about the guy who has desperately been in love with you since you were 15. When you were dating him, he was in paradise! That was what he had been waiting for his whole life!"

Rachel looked up. "That's true..."

"And now with this," Phoebe continued, gesturing to Rachels midsection, "Ross will be beyond happy! Soon he'll find out that the woman he has loved for more than a century is carrying his child. To him, I'm sure it'll be a dream come true. I promise Rach, he's gonna be over the moon." She concluded.

Rachel studied her two friends, they both had very hopeful looks on their faces. It was right then and there that she decided they were right. Ross would be supportive of her no matter what, and she would support him in return. They were in this together.

**A/N: Next chapter coming soon... if you review ;)**


	4. The Fluffy Talk

**A/N: Time for another chapter, kids. Hope 'ya like it! :3**

"Hey babe!" Phoebe greeted her soon-to-be husband, who was doing a wordsearch on the back of a Captain Crunch box.

"Hey hon," Joey replied, barely taking his eyes off the cereal box. When he saw Phoebe approaching, he put the box down and gestured for her to come sit on his lap, which she did.

"I was thinking, before we start planning the wedding, we should at least be living together, right? Plus, it'll be better 'cause I'll be around for more of the baby stuff. Whattaya think?" Joey proposed.

"I really wish we could Joe, but I don't think now's the right time," Phoebe told him solemnly.

"Why not?" Joey asked, his brown eyes looking like those of a sad puppy.

Of course Phoebe wanted to tell him the truth as to why they couldn't move in together, but she knew she shouldn't. If they were to bunk up, that'd mean that Rachel would have nowhere to go, and that was not ideal in her situation. Maybe Ross would want Rach to move in with him once he knew about the baby, but that wasn't a guarantee, so for now, Phoebe knew she'd have to lie to Joey.

"Uh," Phoebe hesitated, "Rachel has been very emotional lately y'know? Yesterday she told me that she's been feeling extremely lonely," Phoebe fibbed.

Joey didn't give it a second thought. If one of his friends was feeling alone, he wasn't gonna be the one to leave them high and dry. "Oh I see. Well if we moved in together she would probably feel left out, and I couldn't do that to her. Maybe you could just spend a _lot_ of time here until Rachel cheers up," Joey suggested.

_Aw, look at how much he cares for his friends. How did I get to be so lucky? _Phoebe thought to herself.

"Sounds good. You'll be seeing a lot of me around here for the next little while," Phoebe declared, grinning.

"I like the sound of that," Joey replied, then gave Phoebe a passionate kiss.

"Have I told you that I love you yet?" Phoebe asked after the kiss broke.

"I don't believe you have," Joey said with a little smirk. He knew what was gonna happen next.

"Well, I love you Joey. I love you so much," Phoebe announced, her eyes gleaming.

"I love you 100 times more," Joey responded while wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Not possible," Phoebe stated, then kissed him again.

_This is where I'm meant to be, _Phoebe thought to herself. Little did she know, her fiancé was thinking the exact same thing.

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed this short little fluffy chapter. Yes, yes, the length of this chapter was nowhere near long, but *shrugs* oh well. Don't worry, I promise the next part will be longer. Peace out dudes, until the next chapter. Remember to write a review, they keep me going! **


	5. The Honeymoon

**A/N: Good morning. My dogs woke me up at quarter after 9 today by howling at the top of their lungs, that was amusing. I also had ice cream cake for breakfast (it was from my birthday, which was 2 days ago). Wild start to the day. Happy reading y'all!**

"CHANDLER!" Monica screamed from the living room.

"What, what, what?" Chandler inquired as he ran from the bedroom and into the livingspace, wearing only plaid pajamas.

Monica, who was not sporting Pj's like her husband, was aggressively fluffing all the pillows and dusting underneath the couches. When Monica saw Chandler standing behind her, she immediately stopped what she was doing.

"Chandler? What are you doing?" She questioned him while putting her hands on her hips.

"Just standing here wondering why you're fluffing all the pillows at 9 o'clock on a Thursday morning," Chandler replied, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Ohhh I see," Monica laughed, "you wanna know why I'm fluffing all the pillows at 9 o'clock on a Thursday morning! Wanna know why? Do 'ya? DO 'YA?" Monica asked, sounding slightly non compos mentis. **(A/N: Non compos mentis is Latin for "crazy," just in case you were wondering).**

"I dunno, do I?" Chandler asked while putting his hands up and backing away from his high strung wife.

Monica rolled her eyes. "Chandler are you brain-deficient? Today's our honeymoon! The house can't be dirty when we leave!" Monica yelled. "How could you forget about this? I thought you were just as excited me!"

Instead of shooting his mouth off, Chandler just smiled.

"What are you smirking about, wiseass?" Monica demanded furiously.

Chandler knew Monica was about to go ballistic, so without saying a word, he ripped off his pajamas and revealed a blue Ralph Lauren polo, and a pair of beige khakis.

Monica gasped. "You got ready?"

Chandler nodded, still grinning like a chessy cat. "Mhm, I'm all dressed and ready to leave when you are! There's no way I'd forget our honeymoon, I was thinking about this moment since the night we got engaged," He said romantically as he pulled his wife in for a hug.

"Oh thank God, you really had me for a second there," Monica said as she took in the scent of his Calvin Klein cologne.

"Hypothetically, let's say I had forgotten our honeymoon, what would've happened?" Chandler asked curiously.

"Well, let's just say that by this point in time I'd be on the plane to paradise by myself," Monica stated as she broke the hug.

"It's a good thing I remembered then. It'd be pretty pathetic for someone to book a honeymoon suite and have to stay in it alone," Chandler pointed out, while giving her a little smirk.

"True," she agreed, then shifted gears. "So all we gotta do now is finish packing the luggages and we'll be on our way!" Monica exclaimed happily, bouncing up and down like a child on a sugar-high.

"Nope, I already packed," Chandler announced proudly.

"You did?" Monica asked, clasping her hands together hopefully.

Chandler nodded, his head held high.

"Thank you so much! That's one less thing we have to do," Monica praised her husband.

Chandler was beaming with pride until he saw Monica look down at the floor with a not-so-happy expression on her face.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" He implored, worried he might've done something wrong.

"Oh, it's nothing really…" She lied.

"Come on, you can tell me anything," Chandler told her, hoping for an answer.

"Ok… I'm just not sure if you packed to Monica Standard," she confessed.

Chandler let out a small chuckle and shook his head. "Honey, even though we've only been married for an extremely short amount of time, I've been with you long enough to know what qualifies as Monica Standard," he told her.

"Really?" Monica asked, her eyes gleaming optimistically.

"Of course! All the tiny toiletries are organized in alphabetical order, the clothes are sorted by brand, and your makeup is categorized by colour," Chandler explained.

"Wow, I knew I married you for a reason!" Monica declared joyfully, then gave her partner a high-five.

"Alrighty, I'll go tidy up our room a bit, then we can head out!" Chandler cheered excitedly as he ran to the bedroom.

Just then, Rachel walked in.

**A/N: Yay, this chapter was much longer than the last two! Keep your eyes peeled ladies and gents, more will be coming soon! Also, my teacher said he'd read my stories, so Mr M, if you see this: Hey, hope you like my work so far (if you want to assign more writing activities in class that would be splendid, haha!) Remember to leave a review everyone :)**


	6. The Accident

**A/N: Alrighty my avid readers, here's another chapter! Also, I've felt a little discouraged because I haven't been getting very many reviews :( maybe as time goes on the numbers will go up a bit! I'm thankful for all those people reading me story though, and for the reviewers I do have; thank you!**

"Hey, Mon! I know you're leaving for your trip soon, but can I talk to you for just a sec?" Rachel asked as she closed the purple door behind her.

Monica headed over to her friend. "Yeah, of course! What's going on?"

"Oh nothing much, I just need some advice on how to tell Ross about the you-know-what. I think I'm gonna do it today," Rachel said as she made her way over to the couch. She decided to keep everything about the baby in code since Chandler, who was in the next room, might eavesdrop.

"Ah, ok, well first of all I'd start by-" Monica started, then went silent after seeing that Rachel was going to sit on the freshly cleaned couch. "Wait, Rach! Don't sit there!" She insisted, waving her hands in the air.

"Why, what happened?" Rachel asked, quickly jumping away from the sofa.

Monica looked down at the ground. Was she really going to tell her pregnant friend that she couldn't sit down all because she just fluffed the pillows? No, that's just plain awful.

"Nevermind, I'll re-fluff the pillows when I get back." Monica said, then gestured for Rachel to take a seat, which she did.

"Anyways, this is really big news, and I don't even know how I'd go about telling him." Rachel admitted, nervously fidgeting with her fingers.

"Yeah I totally understand. If I were in your position, I'd be just as anxious. I think what I would do is-" Monica cut herself off when she saw Chandler walk into the room.

"Hey guys, whatcha talkin' about?" Chandler asked as he headed over to the luggages that were sitting on the kitchen table.

Rachel and Monica both exchanged a look, then simultaneously replied with: "Nothing."

Chandler gazed over to them suspiciously, then just shrugged his shoulders.

_Probably just Girl Talk, _Chandler mentally told himself as he grabbed the toiletry bag.

Chandler wanted to double check that he'd correctly ordered the toiletries before they left. He opened the zipper and counted all the little bottles. Thankfully, not one was out of place! Now they could leave, but first, Rachel would have to skedaddle.

"I really wish we could stay and talk for a bit Rach, but we have to leave for our flight soon," Chandler stated, looking down at his watch.

"Oh yeah that's right… Ok I'll tell you how things turn out when you get back," Rachel told Monica as she slowly got up from the couch.

"Alright, good luck, Rach!" Monica said, then waved her goodbye.

"Thanks! Oh, and Chandler, you dropped a bottle of mini shampoo," Rachel observed, pointing at the tiny bottle on the floor by his feet.

Just as he bent down to pick it up, Phoebe walked in the door and bumped into Rachel.

"Hey Rach! Are you off to tell Ross about the baby?" Phoebe asked, without noticing Chandler until he popped up from behind the coffee table with the shampoo bottle in his hand.

"BABY?!" Chandler shrieked in a voice so high only dogs could hear it.

**A/N: Hehehehehe I left ya' on a cliffhanger! I'll be sure to update… If you review ;) **


	7. The Accident pt 2

**A/N: I'm baaaack! Last time my reviewers asked for longer chapters so I tried to make this one a little longer than the last one. Also, thank you SO much for the kind reviews, reading them made my day! Just like MellarkandArt said, reviews truly do keep authors going! Ok, ok I won't talk long, I know you're eager to read after I left you on that evil cliffhanger the last time around. Happy reading, lobsters!**

Rachel let out an exasperated sigh and lowered her head into her hand.

Monica jumped up from the couch and nervously stared at Phoebe, who was glancing back and forth at everyone with a panicked look on her face.

Chandler stood as frozen as a statue in the living room, waiting for an explanation.

"Oh God, Rachel I'm so sorry! I-I didn't see him there, I swear!" Phoebe stuttered.

"Honey, it's okay, you didn't know," Rachel said softly in attempts to control her frantic friend.

"S-so you're-" Chandler spluttered, his eyes as wide as dinner plates.

"Pregnant? Yup," Rachel answered, finishing his sentence.

"And t-the father is-" He started, trying to comprehend the situation.

"Ross? Bingo," Rachel replied, once again completing his sentence.

"Oh wow," Chandler mumbled to himself, hardly paying attention to his surroundings. _This is surreal! Ross and Rachel are having a kid! Where? When? Why? How? Actually, I know how. Hehe, _Chandler thought, internally giggling at the fact that they "did it."

"Isn't that great, sweetie? You're gonna be an uncle!" Monica exclaimed with a bright smile, snapping Chandler out of his thoughts.

"Yes, that's incredible. Congratulations!" Chandler said contentedly as he walked towards Rachel for a hug.

"Thanks Chandler. I feel so much better knowing I have support from my friends," she said meaningfully before he wrapped her in a tight hug.

Seeing this, Monica quickly dashed over to Chandler and Rachel.

"Chandler, be careful! You can't squeeze her too tight, she's delicate," Monica reminded him in tone that sounded like a mother disciplining her child.

"Oh shoot, you're right. Sorry about that," Chandler said apologetically while backing up.

Rachel let out a little laugh. "Thanks for showing concern Mon, but it's okay, you don't have to worry. I'm just barely 5 weeks along," Rachel explained to her friends.

"Really? That early?" Phoebe said with a slightly shocked expression on her face.

"Yeah… Why? Do I look further along?" Rachel asked defensively, looking at her physique to see if she looked any different.

"No, no, it's not that!" Phoebe said, waving her hands dismissively. "I'm just surprised because Chandler and Monica's wedding was last week," she said.

"And?" Rachel implored curiously, cocking an eyebrow.

"And that means you and Ross did it like a month before the wedding. Were you trying to steal Monica's thunder again, like you did on her engagement night?" Phoebe quipped, earning a chuckle from Monica.

Rachel rolled her eyes in response. "Of course not," she said, giving Phoebe a playful shove.

"Ah, you're smart to shove me," Phoebe said to Rachel.

"Why is that?" Rachel asked.

"Because you know I can't shove you back," Phoebe said knowingly.

Rachel smirked. "True," she said while nodding her head.

"Speaking of weddings and engagement and stuff, we gotta get going on our honeymoon, our flight's gonna leave without us," Chandler said, tapping his watch for emphasis.

"Oh yeah, I forgot! We really need to go!" Monica said before frantically gathering up all the luggages and bags.

Together, she and Chandler carried their fair share of things and sprinted out the door.

"TAKE CARE YOU GUYS, AND GOOD LUCK RACH!" Monica shouted from the stairwell.

**A/N: Hope y'all enjoyed this chapter, I loved writing it! For those of you asking for lengthier chapters, the next one is going to be much longer! Leave a review and lemme know what you think! :D**


	8. The Fruit and the Television

**A/N: I'm updating in honour of 1,000 views on this story! Since I got over 1,000 views, I decided to make this chapter over 1,000 words! Thanks y'all! But I also got a solid zero reviews on the last chapter I posted, which sucked. Oof. Sorry for not updating as frequently as usual, life is a tad bit stressful at the moment. I'm not gonna keep you for long, go ahead and read, I'm not stoppin' 'ya!**

Phoebe and Rachel stayed at Monica and Chandler's apartment after the honeymooners left. The girls could have parted ways, but why leave when all the good food was here?

Phoebe was flipping through some TV channels while Rachel was busy preparing a big bowl of fruit slices for her and Phoebe to snack on. The familiar hum of the television and the satisfying slicing of the apple lulled Rachel into a false sense of bliss. After being stressed for so long, she was glad to say that she finally felt okay; not perfect, but okay. On the inside, she was still just a bundle of anxiety, but thankfully she didn't really look it on the outside anymore.

Suddenly, Phoebe muted the TV and turned over her shoulder to Rachel.

"Why'd you mute the TV, was PBS on again? I know how much you hate them," Rachel asked, taking a break from cutting the juicy red apple.

Phoebe giggled. "No, if I had seen PBS I probably would've chucked the TV set off the balcony. I was just thinking we should call Monica, see how her and Chandler are doing."

Rachel tipped her head to the side. "You think they've landed already?"

"Yea, it's been a few hours, the flight there isn't too long," Phoebe told Rachel as she picked up the white phone and began to dial.

"Oh ok, put it on speaker," Rachel said, then continued to chop up some more fruit. This time she selected a large peach that was at its ripest.

Phoebe held up the phone after she dialed. It rang a few times before Monica picked up.

"Who the hell is in my apartment, and how do you know my number?! I'll call the cops right now!" Monica threatened as she angrily yelled into the phone.

Phoebe and Rachel looked at each other, both clearly confused.

"Uh, Mon it's me, Phoebe, and Rachel is here too. We just wanted to call to see how your flight was," Phoebe explained.

Monica paused for a moment. "Weren't you two right behind Chandler and I when we left?"

"Nope," Phoebe answered as Rachel sat down next to her.

"Oh… Well didn't I at least lock the door behind us?" Monica asked hesitantly.

"Again, nope. Phoebe and I have been here since you left. We both have the key to your place though, so we'll lock up when we head out," Rachel assured her.

"Oh ok, thanks. Well as for the flight, it was GREAT! Chandler and I flew in first class!" Monica proclaimed giddily.

"Oh wow, that's awesome! But I thought you only paid for regular seating, how'd you get into first class?" Phoebe asked. She figured if she knew how Monica and Chandler snuck in, one day she could try it for herself. Sneaking into first class was frowned upon, sure, but Phoebe was pretty sure it wasn't illegal, so she was willing to take the chance.

Suddenly the phone made a little shuffling sound, and Chandler's voice came through. "I'll explain, it was quite simple, actually," he started. "Monica and I had been planning this raid on first class for over a year now, and we intricately thought out every detail of our scheme. Monica stayed behind to keep watch and guard our luggage, while I hacked into LaGuardia's computer system. I swiftly scrolled down through all the flights until I found ours, then I changed me and Monica's tickets to first class. To make it better, I didn't switch the fee, so we paid the price of a regular ticket even though we flew in first class! Isn't that incredible?"

Phoebe and Rachel rolled their eyes and laughed, then the phone made a staticky noise, and Monica's voice came on over the speaker.

"Yea, it is incredible! Incredibly _untrue_. Here's what really happened; Chandler and I watched a couple of newlyweds in front of us kissing, and because workers noticed they were on their honeymoon, the ticket agent bumped them up to first class. All we had to do was copy the thing they did, and we were in," Monica explained honestly.

Rachel and Phoebe nodded their heads. "Ohhh, that makes a LOT more sense," they said in unison.

"And so the flight was good, I assume," Rachel continued.

"Oh yes, it was wonderful. We had seat warmers, Vogue magazines, sleep masks, neck pillows, and champagne!" Monica went on excitedly, then paused. "Actually, Chandler might've had one too many glasses, but that's besides the point," Monica continued through gritted teeth.

Suddenly, the audio on the phone went static again and Chandler could be heard saying: "Hey, why'd 'ya nudge me, I only had two glasses more than you!"

Hearing this, Rachel and Phoebe glanced at each other knowingly. They both decided it was the right time to end the call so they could let the honeymooners enjoy their vacation before a fight broke out.

"Alright, well Pheebs and I have to go, but it was great catching up with you guys," Rachel said.

"Ok, thanks for calling! By the way, Rach, don't forget to tell Ross today!" Monica reminded her friend quickly.

"I won't. I promise that by the time you come back, he'll know," Rachel vowed. _Now I can't chicken out even if I wanted to, I made a promise, _Rachel thought.

"Nice! Oh yea, and don't eat all of our food while we're gone!" Monica added.

"Can't make any promises. Bye!" Phoebe said as she abruptly hung up the phone. "Speaking of eating their food, did you finish with the fruit platter?"

"Oh, I forgot about that. I'm almost done, I just have one more peach to cut," Rachel responded as she got up and went back to the kitchen.

Phoebe nodded, picked up the TV remote, and began flipping through the channels once more.

Suddenly, Joey walked in with a waffle in his hand. "Hey guys. Anybody want this waffle? I ate the other 5, but by then I realized I made _way _too many."

"No, it's alright you go ahead and eat it, I know how much you like your waffles" Phoebe said.

"Are you sure? Rach, do you want it?" Joey asked.

"I'm fine, thanks," Rachel answered, not looking from the peach she was almost done cutting.

"Ok, suit yourselves," Joey shrugged, then shoved the whole entire waffle in his mouth as he sat down next to Phoebe.

For a few moments, the apartment was eerily silent. Nothing but the quiet hum of the tv and the sound of Rachel's knife hitting the cutting board could be heard. Soon enough, the silence was broken by Phoebe and Joey.

"Oh my God!" They cried in unison at the top of their lungs, causing Rachel to jump and almost knick her finger with the pointy tip of the knife.

"What? What happened?" Rachel asked her distressed friends in alarm as she grabbed the finished fruit platter.

"Rachel, look at the TV…" Phoebe said softly while Joey hid behind her shoulder.

Rachel gasped when her eyes met the screen, and she dropped the fruit tray she had been working so diligently on.

The headline of _CNN Live_ read "BREAKING NEWS: Plane crashes into World Trade Center Tower."

**A/N: Yay, I'm happy with how this chapter turned out! It's also quite lengthy, and I know that's what people like to see, so that's a bonus! As for the 9/11 timeline, I know it isn't quite correct since it happened before the start of season 8, but this story is fiction of course, so not everything has to be totally accurate. Anywho, more updates coming soon, keep reviewing! :D**


	9. The Plane Hits The South Tower

**A/N: New chapter, new chapter! Incase you haven't noticed, I've started naming my chapters (which I'm not the best at haha) but it's a nice touch to the story! Thanks so much for all the reviews on the last chapter I posted, it means a lot, keep 'em coming!**

Rachel felt as if she was paralyzed; her brain was telling her to move, but her body was unable to respond. All she could think of while looking at the TV was all the poor people trapped in the fiery skyscraper, calling for the help that might never come. It was almost unbearable to watch, but she couldn't manage to pull herself away from the footage on _CNN Live_. Barely keeping her balance, Rachel slowly stumbled over to the white couch where her shocked friends were already sitting.

"Can you believe this?" Phoebe asked Rachel in a voice that was hardly audible.

"It's unbelievable…" Rachel whispered in response, putting her head in her hands.

"When will it be over?" Joey said softly as he wiped a tear from his eye and rested his head on his fiancés shoulder.

"I don't think it'll ever be over," Phoebe said, wrapping her free arm around Rachel, forming some sort of chain between the three friends.

On the TV, an eyewitness named Winston Mitchell began talking to the news anchors about what he saw from the ground.

"_I saw a plane overhead, and then all of a sudden it sounded louder, I looked up and all of a sudden it smashed right there, right into the center of the World Trade Center. Uhm, big flash of flames, um, fire coming out from all over, there's a huge hole right now. It's almost like the plane went right through, I'm not sure." _

"_Winston, are you on the North-side there, where the plane made contact_?" The male news anchor asked the shaken eyewitness.

"_Yes, I am," _Winston confirmed.

"_Now, when you say huge hole, one of our earlier witnesses, Libby Clarkson, said not much of the plane came down the building-"_

"_No, it went totally into the building," _Winston stated.

"_It's in the building from what you can see?" _The news anchor asked.

"_Right," _Winston replied.

"_Can you see if there's a lot of debris down there, Winston?"_

"_Uh, n-" _

Suddenly, Phoebe let out a gasp so loud that they could no longer hear the conversation between Winston and the news anchor.

"Guys, somebody jumped out of the building, did you see? Oh my God, oh my God!" Phoebe shrieked, her heart was pounding out of her chest. She couldn't believe her eyes, she had just watched someone's death on live television.

Rachel began to feel very nauseated, so she leapt off the couch and ran to the bathroom, quickly shutting the door behind her. Just the thought of someone jumping to their death was enough to make her sick. That, or morning sickness. Maybe a bit of both.

"I'll take that as she saw it," Phoebe mumbled to Joey, who was still hiding behind Phoebe's shoulder. He was very sensitive and couldn't stand to watch something so upsetting.

A few minutes later, Rachel came back out of the bathroom, looking a little frail.

"Rach, are you alright?" Joey asked in a concerned tone of voice. He was quite worried about her since he didn't know that she was experiencing morning sickness.

"Yes, I'm okay, I just don't know if I can watch anymore of this, it's too awful," she said, covering her eyes.

Right after she said that, a boom was heard, the tv screen lit up with a bright flash of orange, and black smoke poured out from the South Tower.

"The South Tower was just hit! I don't think this was accident, I think this is terrorism! America is being targeted, we're under fire!" Phoebe cried, causing Joey to start bawling.

_What kind of a world am I bringing this baby into? _Rachel asked herself, putting a hand over her stomach and hanging her head in dismay. Suddenly, Rachel had a petrifying thought that sent fear crashing through her like a tsunami.

"Oh my God, Ross went to a paleontology conference in the South Tower this morning!"

"Oh, no! What floor was he on? He might've been directly hit!" Phoebe yelled, tears flowing down her face.

I don't know, we need to get down there right now and make sure he is okay!" Rachel shouted in a frenzy, tears uncontrollably falling down her cheeks.

Without saying anything else, Phoebe and Joey bounced up off the couch and ran out the door. Just as Rachel had promised Monica earlier, she locked it behind them, then caught up with Phoebe and Joey, who were already down the first stairwell.

**A/N: That's all for this chapter, hope you enjoyed. Just wanted to add in, I'm in no way trying to make light of the September 11th attacks, it was an absolute tragedy. As for the part on the news with Winston and the news anchor, that is actual dialogue from CNN Live that day. I got the audio from CNN's Youtube video called "9/11: Second plane hits South Tower," which was posted back in 2011. I'll post the next chapter if y'all review.**


	10. The Need To Be Closer

**A/N: Oh God, I'm so nervous about writing this chapter, it's gonna be difficult. Don't worry, I'm still gonna give it my all! Also, don't mind the lack of updates, end of the school year is always busy as I'm sure you all know.**

Rachel, Joey, and Phoebe had finally made their way down all the building's stairs, and were standing outside near the curb. The Twin Towers could be seen burning in the distance, but it was too far away to see what was really going on. They needed to get closer. Joey was frantically waving his hands in attempts to catch a cab, but Rachel stopped him.

"There aren't any cabs, they've closed off all the roads. If we're gonna do this, we're doing it on foot," Rachel declared.

Phoebe and Joey nodded, and together the three friends started speed-walking down the streets, pushing past fellow frantic New Yorkers, The beautiful weather in no way reflected the horrific events that were presently happening in Lower Manhattan; the morning sun was bright and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The only sounds that could be heard were the deafening sirens from speeding fire trucks and the screams from panicked onlookers. It was almost like a scene from an apocalyptic movie.

After what seemed like hours of squeezing through throngs of people, Rachel, Phoebe, and Joey were within 500 metres of the burning towers. They could perfectly see the gaping black holes in each of the skyscrapers and the billowing smoke pouring out from the upper floors. Hundreds of firefighters were running in and out of the World Trade Center, some of them carrying injured workers, others limping towards the sidewalk to rest their worn out legs. Dried blood was caked to some of the first responders faces and splattered on their uniforms. Most of them were coughing from too much smoke inhalation as well.

"We need to get closer, we won't be able to find Ross from here," Rachel insisted.

"Rach, I don't think we can… If we go venture any further we're gonna be in the danger zone," Phoebe reminded her.

"Phoebe is right. We can't put ourselves at risk like that," Joey stated, backing up his fiancé.

"I don't care! Ross could be on the brink of death at this very moment, and we shouldn't let our own selfishness stand in the way!" Rachel cried.

"Rach, it's not about being selfish, it's about making sure we are safe. Besides, _some_ people here are protecting more than just themselves, if y'know what I mean," Phoebe warned, but then paused after seeing the look Rachel was giving her. In order to make sure no further questions would arise, Phoebe turned to Joey and said, "and by some people I meant me." Joey bought it, and Phoebe silently prayed she wouldn't have to cover up for Rachel much longer.

"Exactly, you're staying right by my side, where you and the baby will be safe. I don't want you going towards something so dangerous," Joey said, putting his arm around Phoebe, earning a small smile from her. He then leaned in for a kiss, and they passionately embraced.

America was under attack.

The world seemed to be crumbing around them.

Somehow in the midst of all of this, being together made them feel an unexplainable comfort.

When Rachel saw the two lovebirds kissing, she knew it was the right time to bolt. There was no way Phoebe or Joey would've let her get closer to the towers, so she took off while they were distracted. She jogged past crying families, shocked citizens, and even some people who were in the towers and managed to escape. Suddenly, she was stopped by a fireman with a very muscular build. He had shaggy brown hair, hazel eyes, and was over 6 feet tall. On his dust covered uniform, there was a nametag that had "Lieutenant Ronald Marshall" written on it.

"Excuse me, ma'am, you can't go any closer to the towers, there is too much falling debris that could injure you," he said calmly, making sure he wouldn't upset her even more.

"B-but, Ross is in the South Tower, he had a meeting today, and I need to make sure he gets out okay!" Rachel insisted, trying to push past the firefighter, almost like a child trying to run away from a parent who was about to give a time-out. Lieutenant Marshall stood firmly in his place, making sure she couldn't get past.

"That's why we're here, ma'am, we are gonna try to rescue as many people as possible. Do you know what floor he is on? He might've already gotten out."

"No, I don't. All I know is that he left early this morning for a paleontology conference in the South Tower," Rachel explained shakily.

"Ok, I understand. I advise you to stay calm and stay back, the other firefighters and I are doing our very best to help everyone inside both towers. I'm sure Ross is going to be alright. I have to go back now, I've rested for a couple minutes and now it's my turn to go back into the South Tower," Lieutenant Marshall said, clearing his throat and putting his helmet on. He walked away a few paces, then he turned back to Rachel and said: "Stay strong."

Tears glistening in her bright blue eyes, Rachel nodded. "You too," she called to him as he ran back into the action.

Rachel watched as Lieutenant Ronald Marshall disappeared in the distance, then she felt two taps on her shoulder. When she turned around she saw Phoebe and Joey behind her, arms crossed over their chests.

"We told you not to get any closer, Rach. Look at the debris falling from the towers!" Phoebe scolded, pointing up at the burning paper and pieces of metal falling from the sky.

"That stuff could've hit you!" Joey added.

"I know, I'm sorry. I just couldn't stand around waiting for something to happen. I talked to a fireman, Lieutenant Marshall, and he made a little more relaxed. Now I guess we just have to wait." Rachel said, looking down at the ground.

All of a sudden, a smile spread over Phoebe's face. "Rachel, we don't have to wait anymore! There he is!" Phoebe cried happily, tears of joy starting to form in her green eyes.

There he was indeed.

**A/N: That's all for this chapter my pretties (lol ew did I just say "my pretties?") Be sure to leave a review, and I'll be sure to update :)**


	11. The Fall

**A/N: I'm leaving for a lil trip tomorrow, so here is the update! This chapter is pretty unique in the way I wrote it. It's basically Ross recounting the events through his own point of view. Enjoy the read!**

Ross' POV

It was the sunniest Tuesday morning Manhattan had seen in a long time, not a cloud in the bright blue sky. Everything about my routine was the same, other then the fact that I would be attending a very important conference at the World Trade Center. I arrived at the South Tower about 15 minutes before the conference would commence, just enough time for me to get up to the 52nd floor. I stood in the lobby, waiting for an elevator door to open, and just like that, one did. I pressed the button that took me to the 52nd floor, and talked to a guy standing next to me, his name was Denny. He had a meeting at the very top of the tower. I remember him saying how excited he was to see what New York looked like from that high up. Little did he know, that would be his very last elevator ride. Anybody who was at the top of the tower wouldn't make it out alive, they were all trapped. It was either jump or burn. It pains me to think about the cheery smile Denny gave me before I walked out of the elevator.

About 5 or 6 minutes into the conference, my colleagues and I heard a loud boom that rattled the room. Mike Peter-Angelo, who studies the mesozoic era, rushed to the window. He then informed us that some sort of bomb detonated in the North Tower. We were all a little shaken up, so we decided to evacuate. Some of the paleontologists stayed behind so that the emergency stairwell wouldn't get too crowded, but they promised they'd come in a few minutes. I haven't seen any of them since.

I started my journey down the stairs, my legs taking me at a speed I didn't even know they could reach. Suddenly, without any warning, there was an ear splitting explosion, coming from about 20 floors above me. My brain couldn't process what was happening. Was it terrorism? Someone on a killing spree? Purely accidental? Another bomb? I didn't have time to think, all I knew was that I had to get myself out of the building as quickly as possible. The fire alarm sounded throughout the building, repetitive and loud. It sounded like a noise you would hear during an apocalypse movie; a signal that the world was crumbling apart.

I continued running down the stairs, not even stopping for a break, despite how hot and tired I was. The temperature in the building was rising, even though the blast had gone off several floors above where I was. When I made it all the way down to the 10th floor, I remember a feeling of relief washed over me. I was almost there, just a few more stairways to descend. When I finally reached the lobby, I took a 30 second breather, then jogged out.

While I was hunched over and panting outside the building, a woman who looked to be in her 60s slowly walked past me. She had short orange hair, she wore a fluffy pink coat, and the same colour bellbottoms. I noticed that the woman couldn't stop coughing, she must've breathed in a lot of smoke and debris. I approached her and asked what her name was, and if she was okay. She told me that she was having trouble breathing, and that her name was Hazel. She didn't really look like a Hazel, but I like the name just as well. I gave Hazel the jacket from my suit so she could put it over her nose when she breathed. She thanked me, and started digging around her pink purse. I saw a tiny Siamese cat poke its head out of the bag, but I didn't question it. I just figured Hazel was one of those stero-typical "cat-ladies." After a few seconds of searching around her purse, Hazel looked defeated.

"I don't have anything to give you. The only thing in here is Mittens, my cat, and a stale toffee candy," she said, I could tell she looked embarrassed.

"That's okay, ma'am, I just wanted to make sure you are alright," I replied.

She smiled, then her eyes lit up. "Oh, I do have something to give you!"

Hazel stuck her hand inside the large pocket of her coat, and pulled out a pink bunny stuffy that fit in the palm of her hand.

"My father gave this to me when I was a little girl. Now, I'm not sure if you have a daughter to give this to, or if you'd just like to keep it for yourself, but either way I'd like you to have it. Thank you for showing me such generosity."

I was absolutely touched that a woman I hardly knew was willing to pass on something as special as that to me. Even though I don't have a daughter to give the bunny to, I thanked her, and put the stuffed animal in my pocket. We quickly said our goodbyes, and Hazel and I went our separate ways.

The smoke had really got to me at that point, so I was coughing like mad. A fireman approached me, he looked like he had just come from the big sea of people in the streets. His nametag read: "Lieutenant Ronald Marshall."

"Are you alright, sir?" He asked me, while dabbing some sweat on his forehead with a handkerchief.

"I'm okay, just a little light-headed from all the smoke," I responded honestly.

"Oh, well if you aren't injured, I need to go into the tower. Take this though, it'll help with the cough," Lieutenant Marshall said, handing me a water bottle that was three-quarters empty. "I know there isn't much, but just waterfall what's left of it."

I thanked him, unscrewed the cap, and drank the remaining bit of water. Before leaving for the tower, Lieutenant Marshall asked me if my name was Ross. Fascinated, I asked him how he knew.

"About a minute ago I ran into a crying woman in the streets, said she was looking for a guy by the name of Ross. To me, you look like a Ross, so I took a shot in the dark and asked," Lieutenant Marshall said, then continued, "but anyway, she looked heartbroken and she desperately wanted to find you."

"Do you remember what she looked like?" I asked.

"Uh yea, she had brownish-blonde hair, light blue eyes, about 5'5, very pretty if I may say so…"

"Oh, that's Rachel," I said to myself. "Thanks for letting me know, I'll go find her right now. Good luck, and thank you for all you and the other firefighters are doing."

"No problem, we're just doin' what we signed up for. Good luck with Rachel by the way," Lieutenant Marshall called to me as he jogged into the South Tower.

Rachel. I'm not quite sure why, but just hearing that name gave me butterflies. She and the others are part of the reason I had so much determination to make it out alive. Not only am I living for myself, but I'm living for my family, Ben, and of course, my friends.

I made my way through a big crowd of people until my eyes met Rachels. Then I saw Phoebe, followed by Joey. They all gleefully ran towards me, their eyes looked a little red from crying. Joey hugged me first, then Phoebe. When it was Rachel's turn, she gave me a long meaningful hug. Her body language and expressions showed that she had been worried, but also that she was very relieved to see me again. She loosened the hug, then looked up at me. We held eye contact for at least 20 seconds straight. In that time, I knew by the look on her face she was contemplating telling me something. She looked pretty serious, so it must've been important.

Third Person POV

Still in Ross' arms, Rachel made the decision.

_I have to tell him, he has a right to know. _

Rachel took a deep breath. "Ross, I need to tell you something. I'm-"

And that's when the South Tower began to collapse.

**A/N: Teehee, that's one evil cliffhanger right there. Review if you wanna know what happens next ;D**


	12. The Aftermath

**A/N: boop doodle oop doo doo doo doo doo doo**

Starting from the very top, the tower began collapsed into itself, almost like a controlled demolition.

"RUN!" Ross screamed over the loud crashing sound of the tower. It was such a loud noise that it shook the ground.

Phoebe, Ross, Rachel, and Joey started sprinting away from the falling building as fast as they could, but no matter how far they got, they could hear the rumbling of the steel and concrete being crushed as the skyscraper fell. Occasionally, one of the friends would turn their heads to see how far they had gotten, but for some strange reason, with every step they took away from the trade center, they seemed to be getting even closer.

In life, you go where your eyes go. But your eyes won't take you to the places you need to be, you will. Let's say Ross had the ability to exit the tower, but thought he would never make it, so he chose not to leave. Where would he be? Well, he wouldn't be out in the great wide open, breathing fresh air, that's for damn sure. What if Ross, Rachel, Phoebe, and Joey didn't start running when the South Tower fell? Where would they be? Trapped under rubble, or lost in a cloud of dust? My point is, if one has the courage to create one's own conditions, then the rain around them is simply rain. Will the rain hold them back? No. Will it slow them down? Maybe. Does that mean they can't get around it? Of course not. No race was ever won in the first corner, but many have been lost there. That's why in the midst of everything, they kept on running.

The people in Manhattan were fleeing in every possible direction in order to outrun the monstrous cloud of debris. Some even decided to even take to the river, crowding into boats that are normally used for leisure, not for escaping tragedy. All the while, Ross, Rachel, Phoebe and Joey didn't stop running until they reached the curb outside of the apartment.

"Let's get in quick, that smoke travels like nobody's business," Phoebe directed, opening the lobby doors.

They all headed in, then went up the stairs to Monica's apartment. Once the 4 friends were inside, they all sunk down at the kitchen table, practically gasping for breath. What was there to say, truly? Were they supposed to celebrate that they escaped? But how could they when they knew that many couldn't bask in the same glory? There was nothing to say, so they all just studied one another, looking deeply into each others eyes.

"I never knew how much I took life for granted," Ross said quietly, a tear landing on the kitchen table.

Everyone nodded their heads solemnly, and Joey started to sniffle.

"Phoebe, do you think we can go back to the apartment? I want to talk to you, and I need some time for just us," Joey said softly, gazing tearfully into his fiancés eyes.

"Ok, I think I could use a little time for ourselves too," Phoebe agreed, then she and Joey got up from the table, leaving behind Ross and Rachel.

Back at Joey's apartment, Phoebe and her fiancé had been sitting close by each other on the couch. They had just finished having a much needed crying-session when Joey announced he was gonna shower to get all the dust and debris off of him.

"Ok, I'll probably go in after you. For now, I'll call Monica and Chandler, I'm sure they've heard about what happened, so I'll let them know that we are okay," Phoebe said to Joey while picking up the telephone.

It rang a few times before Chandler picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Chandler, it's Phoebe."

"Oh my God, Monica, I've got Phoebe on the line! How are you guys back home? What happened?" Chandler asked quickly.

"We are all okay, it's been a very hectic day so far. Ross was in the South Tower, but he managed to get out safely, thank the Lord. Joey is just getting cleaned up now, and Ross and Rachel are at your place, I think she is gonna tell him about -" Phoebe hushed her voice, "-the baby."

"Monica and I have been watching the news all day for updates. We're happy you are all doing alright, both of us have been very strung out," Chandler said, then Phoebe heard Monica's voice in the background saying "Can I please talk to her?"

"Hi, Pheebs," Monica said after swiftly swiping the phone from Chandler.

"Hey, Mon. How are you doing?"

"I've been better, it's been a really stressful day over here. While we were unpacking all of our stuff into our suite, Chandler turned on the TV and we saw what happened back home. They say it's the worst thing to happen to America since the Oklahoma City Bombing," Monica replied.

"I know, it's awful, none of us over here can even believe it happened… It's like a nightmare," Phoebe said, flashbacks from earlier today starting to cloud her mind.

The sound of the water turning off snapped Phoebe out of her thoughts. "Oh, Joey is out of the shower, I have to go now. I'll talk to you soon, we need to keep each other updated. And please try to have a good time on your honeymoon. I know it might be hard considering everything that's gone on, but you're only gonna have one of these, so you gotta make it a good one," Phoebe reminded her friend finally.

"Ok, we'll try our best, tell everyone we say hello and that we wish 'em all the best. Bye," Monica responded.

Phoebe said a quick goodbye, then hung up the phone. Just then, Joey walked out of the bathroom wearing only a towel around his waist. Phoebe smiled at that sight, then headed to the shower.

After a few moments of silence, Ross reached for Rachel's hand, and she took it. They said nothing for a while, just focused on each others presence.

"We all do," Ross mumbled to himself without context.

"What do we all do?" Rachel wondered out loud.

"Take our lives and the people in it for granted, without even realizing. Every single day is a blessing, even the tough ones. If I woke up this morning, knowing that death was knocking on my door, I think I'd regret how I've spent my life," Ross said seriously, hoping his point was being made clear.

"I think I'd feel the same way to be honest. I have so many regrets, so many things I could've done but didn't," Rachel admitted.

"You know, there's this one regret I have, I'd say it's the biggest one in my life…" Ross started, then trailed off, looking to be in deep thought.

Rachel didn't speak, she just supportively rubbed his hand and waited until Ross was ready to continue speaking.

"I hate the way we ended things, Rach," Ross suddenly told her meaningfully. "I can't take back what I did, and that's the worst part about the whole thing. Had I stayed faithful to you, we'd most likely still be together to this day. I would've never lost you. We might've had a future, y'know? It just hurts me to think of how I ruined everything we could've had, all because I did something so asinine," Ross spoke truthfully.

Rachel could detect severe pain in his captivating brown eyes. "Honey, please don't worry like this. I've forgiven you, and I hope you've forgiven me too. It took the two of us to end things, not just you," Rachel explained, then stood up, gesturing for him to give her a hug.

Ross slowly got up, and began sobbing, gut-wrenching sobs that he had been holding in for way too long.

Ross wrapped his arms around Rachel and continued crying. "I almost… lost you…" Ross managed to say.

"I know, I know, but you're never gonna lose me Ross, I promise. You're one of my dearest friends, one of the most important people in my life," Rachel said, not bothering to hold back her own tears anymore.

After a few minutes, they broke the hug, and stared at each other in silence, until Ross asked something that would forever change his life.

"So what was that thing you were gonna tell me before… it happened," Ross asked Rachel, referring to when she had tried to tell him about the baby before the tower fell.

Rachel felt her breath get caught in her throat. "Oh yea, that…" She remembered, then tried to quickly think of a good way to break the news.

_Oh wait, there is no good way. I just have to break it to him fast, it'll be like ripping off a bandage, quick and painless. _Rachel reassured herself.

Rachel, unsure of what she would do, smiled at Ross and asked him to take a seat on the couch.

Ross went to go sit on the sofa, and looked up at Rachel suspiciously. "Rach, what's going on?"

**A/N: WOOOOP this is one long-ass chapter! I've gotta get up and stretch my back after writing this one, damn! I worked very diligently on this, and I must admit, it was pretty tough to write. Please let me know what you thought of this chapter by leaving me a review, it means a great deal to me. Also, thanks to Boris Yeltsin and Guest for being my loyal reviewers, love hearing your feedback! :)**


	13. The Chat

**A/N: WELL. My 50th review happened to be one that I didn't find very nice. This guest reviewer of mine said: "I just noticed you are the same person who said you will do an epilogue for burial by the sea and didn't so I don't care about this story anymore, you're gonna leave it at sometime, maybe now." **

**First: I fixed their grammatical errors, so that's not perfectly quoted, but that's what it was getting at.**

**Second: My other story is called "TOW The Burial At Sea," not burial by the sea.**

**Third: I have a lot of things going on in my life now, and instead of being an outlet, writing this story was becoming a little stressful to me, so I'm going on hiatus until further notice. I might come back with a different story, continue this one, do a couple short stories, or just use this website to read other stories.**

**Fourth: I'm sorry to have disappointed you, Guest Reviewer. I know it sucks when you are reading a story and the author doesn't update, but it's almost always for good reason. But a fun thing I like to do when a story isn't completed is write down how I think it would go, and use my imagination! (Don't publish it though, for obvious reasons, since it's the author's idea you would have to ask permission first). If you don't want to write it down, you could always play it out in your head too, there are many ways to keep a story going. :)**

**To all the rest of my readers as well, I have one more chapter of this story that has been pre-written. Not sure when/if I'm going to post it, but it's there. I'll be on a bit of a temporary hiatus until further notice, but I might or might not post the next chapter, it depends on how I feel. Thanks for understanding.**

Rachel took a deep breath, wondering how she would break this life-changing news to her unsuspecting pal. Finally, she thought of something she could say.

"Do you remember that night we spent together before Monica and Chandler's wedding?" She asked him, getting straight to the point.

A wide grin slowly spread across Ross' face. "Of course I do! That was one hell of a night, don't you think?"

Rachel smiled wearily and nodded her head. Poor Ross had no idea what was about to hit him.

"I mean, sure, we were both totally wasted, but I still remember it all pretty clearly. I kissed you, and even though I wasn't sure how you'd react, we just kinda melted into it… It was sorta perfect in a way," Ross reminisced.

"Yea… It was," Rachel agreed quietly. The more she thought about it, the more she realized how difficult this would be to tell Ross.

_What if he runs away and abandons me? What if he leaves the friend group, or what if he doesn't want me to keep the baby? I can't do this, I can't do this, I can't do this. _

Ross noticed Rachel (who was on the coffee table in front of him) silently staring off into nothing, so he leaned forward on the couch and tapped her knee.

"You still with me, Rach?"

Rachel snapped out of it and rapidly nodded her head. "Yea, I'm good," she said, shifting her gaze back over to Ross, followed by the two of them going quiet.

"Sooo? Is that it you had to say?" Ross asked, breaking the semi-awkward silence.

Internally beating herself up for what she was about to say, Rachel let out a small "yes."

"Ok, well, uh, I think I'm gonna head out now," Ross said, starting to ascend from the couch.

"Wait! D-Do you maybe wanna stay and talk?" Rachel asked, looking down at the ground.

"Yea, I'll stay. Honestly, I don't think I wanna be alone right now, it's been a day from hell," Ross admitted. "So what would you like to talk about? Perhaps something to distract us from real life, if you don't mind."

"Sure, how 'bout you tell me a bit about a dinosaur?" Rachel suggested, hoping it would cheer her friend up, he had been through hell and back in the last couple hours.

"Really? Nobody ever wants to listen to me talk about dinosaurs," Ross said in shock.

"Well it'd make me happy if you did," Rachel replied with a smile, causing Ross to beam right back at her.

"Hmm, I think I know a good deal of information on the Allosaurus, so let's start with that. I was just studying this particular dinosaur about a week or two ago, so everything I know is pretty fresh. The Allosaurus is a genus of carnivorous theropod dinosaur, and it lived 155 to 150 million years ago in the late Jurassic period. This guy was a large bipedal predator and was on the top of the food chain, preying on contemporaneous herbivorous dinos," Ross drawled, leaving Rachel bored out of her mind.

_Maybe I should've chosen a different topic of discussion, _Rachel thought to herself as Ross continued to drone on about the Allosaurus.

After what seemed like an hour (even though it had only been roughly 5-7 minutes), Ross concluded his lecture on the Allosaurus.

"Whew, I hardly stopped to take a breath! What'd you think Rach, the Allosaurus is pretty cool, right?"

"Yea, totally," Rachel responded, trying to sound as intrigued as possible even though she secretly hoped that he would change the topic.

"I think I'll tell you about the Brontosaurus next, how does that sound?" Ross asked giddily.

"Uhm," Rachel started, then took a pause, seeing how gleeful Ross was. "Sounds great," she lied.

"Awesome! Ok, so the Brontosaurus is a genus of gigantic quadruped dinosaurs, they lived in the Late Jurassic epoch, and then went extinct by the end of the Jurassic period. Brontosaurus' are estimated to have w-"

"Ross, I'm pregnant," Rachel blurted out, feeling a huge weight come off her chest.


End file.
